GT: Game 6 Lakers vs Hornets 11/9/2014 6:30 PM PST

[ArC_man]

No one is saying a top 5 pick guarantees a star, anyone who thinks that is fooling themselves. However a top 5 pick gives your team more options and is a highly coveted asset. Even if we don't want to develop the pick we could easily flip it to get an impact player in return.

[Lorenzomax7]

Jeremy's dribbling is below average and that's why he needs to jump for creating angles b4 pass it to somebody(sometimes the opponent). Dribbling is his biggest weakness and that's really hard to be improved at this stage of his whole career since school days.

Now explain Curry 10 Turnover from last night and how Harden is leading the NBA in turnovers.

Lin is not as smart a ball handler as Nash, but he only had 1 TO in the game with 7 assists. Many scorers never attempt difficult passes on the drive. The problem is really about Lin trying too many difficult passes and driving into triple teams. His dribbling is fine on most part.

Would be better after the team learn to space the floor.

You got your point. I even did a stats-based research about Lin's "Hi-risk hi-reward" game. But one game doesn't make you a good ball-handler. His ball-handling skills is quite below average. I meant, he has that Nash-eque basketball IQ, but he simply doesn't have that kind of dribble skills to reach onto the next level.

[Lorenzomax7]

Jeremy's dribbling is below average and that's why he needs to jump for creating angles b4 pass it to somebody(sometimes the opponent). Dribbling is his biggest weakness and that's really hard to be improved at this stage of his whole career since school days.

Lin's handling/dribbling may be his weakness but how is it hard to improve at this stage of his career? He has 2 full seasons as an NBA player plus the few months Linsanity run. He may be 26, but he doesn't have that much game and mileage experience as others his age. He definitely can improve his handling/dribbling and I think if he makes it a priority, bring it to at least average level but even above average since he has a strong work ethic.

And you know who else jumps on their passes? The great Dwayne Wade. Watch him, he jumps a lot in mid air and makes passes, as much as Lin does. He makes less errors because he's one of the best players ever as well as is way more experienced than Lin.

There were too many posts early in the game of how the Lin experiment isn't working and how Kemba was out-playing him and so-forth. Lin is a better 2nd half player, he played very good defense for the most part in the game and he blows by his defenders as much if not more as they blow by him, he is still learning how to play with guys that aren't that well suited to his play style, he is still not in season rhythm with the team and he is not a traditional PG and won't look like one out there. This was an bit above-average game for Jeremy, not an A game or a monster game. When he is on he'll have more steals, take more charges late in games, get more +1s, go to the line more, light it up from beyond the arc more and score in the high 20s or low to mid 30s and have close to double digit assists. 1 TO was nice but tbh, Lin is playing better when he makes a few TOs as crazy as that sounds.

A good Lin game features some balanced scoring from team and he is often part of the touches. It doesn't mean he is getting assists but the ball touches his hand on the way to one or two more passes, or he initiates movement or is part of it that leads to a good shot. It doesn't mean he's always scoring 20+ though, he can score 15 and have that happen. He can be a part of a winning team but the Lakers need a 3 point gunner, a better forward than the invisible Wesley, a better defensive player than Boozer who gets in guys way who are defending, and a more fast-break, transition basket running type of offense off of misses that Lin is great at doing and finishing. We finally saw a reverse layup from him and those short range approach from the corner bank shots he is capable of making (and will need to make against shot blocking teams).

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[ChokeFasncists]

choke? you watching this? I think we can settle the why isn't everyone into Robert Suckre debate. He does more harm than good.

Hey, wassup, I was going to this bar, called in, asked if they could show the Lakers game, they said yes. Went there and found out they didn't have league pass (I don't live in LA).

Gonna watch the replay online now focusing on Scare; hey, the guy did get pretty decent stats and he's the only legit center on the roster!

[Lorenzomax7]

Well, Chris Paul just jumped to the air and passed it out against da Spurs defense... I think it's fair to say every PG had done these "jump2pass" once in a while.

[mcscotty]

Wes Johnson was picked right before Demarcus Cousins.

Good luck with your tank.

Exactly. You could go on all day with similar examples.

[Mamba Venom]

We got hot in the 3rd. The Lakers surely are not tanking. We just have had a rough schedule with a crazy # of back to backs.

[ChokeFasncists]

choke? you watching this? I think we can settle the why isn't everyone into Robert Suckre debate. He does more harm than good.

OK, ic, he made two real tough turnaround fadeaway jumpshots in garbage time. lol

Well, in spite of several mistakes and boneheaded plays, I still think he's serviceable as a backup center in this league, he did make some nice play afterall and he's still quite new to the league, his J is what makes him valuable.


*As for the game, it's really nice to get the W with Lin playing really well. Boozer is showing what he can do, there's no way he'll drop off that much, he isn't that old. That said, he's probably better to come off the bench, he'll be beasting on inferior defense and his bad D will prove adequate. Ed Davis should start period, perhaps Scot is waiting for Young to come back to make the switch?

[mcscotty]

Forget tanking...

I say that all the time, guys are so sure that building through the draft is a sure fire bet to getting good. It's not the be all end all way to do it. Hell after this years draft the next couple will be rummage sales.

This^^^^. The Nba ( and all other pro leagues) go through a youth movement roughly every 8-12 years. We've currently reached the apex of that movement, as noted by all the young talent dotted around the league. Going forward it's going to be much tougher for prospects to crack lineups. Success in sports, as in life, can be heavily influenced by when you're born.

[Edrees]

lol we win 1 game and all of a sudden its "forget tanking" and "we can do it!"

like wtf where have you guys been all season?

Seriously...I can't believe what I'm reading.

We suck people. We're a really, really, really bad team. Wins do us 0 good.

Here's to hoping for Lin reverting to earlier-season play. I could do without Kobe shooting under 40% every game but at this point it's whatever.

So what you're saying is you want your team to lose while Kobe shoots the ball well and Lin struggles? You kind of sound conflicted and confused.

I want the team to win but I'm realistic and think they are bottom 5 team talent wise in the NBA and will get their regardless of how hard they try to win, so I just set my expectations at a realistic level.

Wes Johnson was picked right before Demarcus Cousins.

Good luck with your tank.

Exactly. You could go on all day with similar examples.

What about the team that drafted after cousins was taken? If they lost a few more games they could have had him. Of course you can use bad drafting as a reason not to tank, but the assumption is that the Lakers are good at drafting. Which we are, so we don't be taking any wesley johnsons before demarcus cousins.

BY the way you can trade a top 5 pick for a talented player and that is a guarantee.

[mcscotty]

Seriously...I can't believe what I'm reading.

We suck people. We're a really, really, really bad team. Wins do us 0 good.

Here's to hoping for Lin reverting to earlier-season play. I could do without Kobe shooting under 40% every game but at this point it's whatever.

So what you're saying is you want your team to lose while Kobe shoots the ball well and Lin struggles? You kind of sound conflicted and confused.

I want the team to win but I'm realistic and think they are bottom 5 team talent wise in the NBA and will get their regardless of how hard they try to win, so I just set my expectations at a realistic level.

Wes Johnson was picked right before Demarcus Cousins.

Good luck with your tank.

Exactly. You could go on all day with similar examples.

What about the team that drafted after cousins was taken? If they lost a few more games they could have had him. Of course you can use bad drafting as a reason not to tank, but the assumption is that the Lakers are good at drafting. Which we are, so we don't be taking any wesley johnsons before demarcus cousins.

BY the way you can trade a top 5 pick for a talented player and that is a guarantee.

[mcscotty]

So what you're saying is you want your team to lose while Kobe shoots the ball well and Lin struggles? You kind of sound conflicted and confused.

I want the team to win but I'm realistic and think they are bottom 5 team talent wise in the NBA and will get their regardless of how hard they try to win, so I just set my expectations at a realistic level.

Exactly. You could go on all day with similar examples.

BY the way you can trade a top 5 pick for a talented player and that is a guarantee.

Wow! That's quite a guarantee. I'm calling BS. It's an after thought, at best.

[crazyeights]

Very well said. Losing is for losers.

lol wtf is this logic? the lakers are 1-5 and are awful, how are we not losers exactly?

The odds of drafting and developing an impact player are not that great. A 20th selection is almost as likely to blow up as a 1st overall. It's a crap shoot with loads of intangibles. The odds of building a team this way are even slimmer. Growing a team organically is almost like turning lead to gold. OKC are the only team I can think of that has had much success over the past couple of decades and you can chalk that up to luck( ie. Greg Odom). Patience and a steady hand is what builds success. Besides, tanking just brings bad Karma around the organization.

Patience and a steady hand

It's patience and a steady hand--AND ACQUIRING TALENT ANY WAY POSSIBLE

Mitch has all the damn patience in the world. The trouble is we don't have many ways to improve at the moment. If we keep the pick, it's guaranteed top 5. Would you rather not have the pick? What is the argument here?

We're essentially already eliminated from the playoffs the way we've started the season--1-5, major injuries to 3 key players, one player's father being murdered, Kobe shooting sub 40%, defense being awful and on and on.

You want to talk about odds--well guess what, so do people who are saying we should keep the pick. Odds are we don't make the playoffs. So then what? Wouldn't the odds of not drafting a bust nearly double by having not ONE but TWO first rounders?

Like some more numbers? Your argument--it makes ZERO sense.

It's a bunch of platitudes about "eh, it ain't easy to build a team." Great, we know that. Thanks for your genius insight. Nobody's saying it is. Deeps post about surefire top 5 pick you quoted--nobody's saying anything is a given, or surefire--look up the definition for "straw man argument."

[D Nice]

No one is saying a top 5 pick guarantees a star, anyone who thinks that is fooling themselves. However a top 5 pick gives your team more options and is a highly coveted asset. Even if we don't want to develop the pick we could easily flip it to get an impact player in return.

I mean I really can't bring myself to even respond to it. It goes beyond comprehension. This is literally the stupidest "debate" I have ever come across on realgm.

Congrats. Some of you have successfully lowered the bar even further than I thought possible.

[mcscotty]

Shouldn't even be a debate. Tanking goes against the spirit and intent of the game.